Semiconductor industry demands fabrication of two types of 3D objects. One of them is an elevated-up large area 3D dielectric structure for electrostatic chucks. Having a plurality of fine hair-like modules, it grips large thin flat objects like a silicon wafer with the diameter of 450 mm. An electrostatic force applied to a grasped flexible wafer with a large area may bend the flat-surface shape turning it into a curved surface and break it. This is a problem of the 450 mm-wafer processing that hinders its commercialization. A 3D electrostatic chuck is described in the International Patent Publication WO2017150574A1 issued on Aug. 9, 2017 to Saito Shiki, et al. (“Bipolar electrostatic chuck module and production method therefor”). The modules having a fine hair structure can provide a graspable surface having any area. The electrostatic force like a Coulomb one generates a mechanism for attraction of a grasped object like a large wafer without damaging the object during attachment or detachment. Such a 3D architecture adds flexibility to the electrostatic chuck surface to accommodate fragility of a 450 mm wafer.
Another application of 3D printing for semiconductor industry is fabrication of showerheads with a plasma-chemical corrosion protection barrier. Such showerheads have a plurality of gas holes that are to be exposed to highly corrosive etching gases like CF4 and S2F6 that pass through the showerhead during etching and deposition processes. If flat surfaces can be protected from the plasma-chemical corrosion by DC plasma spraying with yttrium oxide (Y2O3), gas holes of showerheads with a diameter of 0.6 mm and a depth of 12 mm cannot be easily covered with such a protective layer and will be subject to plasma-chemical corrosion.
If Y2O3 nanoparticles are applicable in the semiconductor industry, the yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) particles could be used for fabrication, e.g., of 3D low-temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC), where electro-chemical properties and ion conductivity of such particles could play an important role. A challenge here is a 3D deposition of a thin-film impermeable electrolyte with a submicron thickness on the porous anode.
In spite of an advantage of refractory-material nanoparticles for the additive manufacturing, the instruments for implementation of such nanoparticles in a 3D manufacturing process have not been yet developed. Nowadays, no one can perform building of 3D objects from refractory-material nanopowders because all refractory precursors for such a process will request melting, vaporization, precise delivery to the object, distribution in patterns, and subsequent layer-by-layer sintering of a multiple-layer structure from an amorphous state to a crystalline state. For example, a laser that can provide a focused thermal energy for melting and consolidating a metal powder exposed to a laser beam and subsequent integration of the substance onto a 3D object does not possess energy sufficient to afford such a process if it uses a ceramic material. Besides, a laser cannot carry the building material and deliver it in the melted or vaporized substance for densification of the 3D objects. Therefore, such laser-made 3D objects usually have a porous structure.
Other systems like aerodynamic jets can carry nanoparticles in a mist, focus a jet flow, and deliver a compound for integration into a 3D buildup. However, real 3D objects cannot be produced without transferring to nanoparticles a thermal energy sufficient for their melting and thus for subsequent post-deposition thermal processes, especially for melting, consolidation, and sintering. If the process is still performed, the obtained 3D objects will suffer from such drawbacks as shrinking, low precision and low density.
Thus, a plasma beam may be the best candidate for 3D nano-printing. It can serve simultaneously as a source of a direct thermal energy transferred to the nanopowder for melting and vaporization, a carrier of the melted or vaporized nanoparticles, a fine distributor of the focused vapor and, finally, a creator of a scanning sintering spot that, after each deposited layer, provides transition of an amorphous structure into a nanocrystalline material.
3D printing apparatuses that utilize a plasma beam for forming 3D structures by printing a layer by layer from top to bottom are known in the art.
For example, Chinese Patent Application Publication CN105922672 (inventor: Yunfang Hua) published on Sep. 7, 2016, discloses a plasma 3D printing equipment and method. The equipment is comprised of a monitoring system, a plasma beam processing system, and a printing platform. The plasma beam processing system consists of a plasma generator provided with a nozzle, a printing distance adjusting device for adjusting a distance between a nozzle outlet and a horizontal printing table, a gas supply device, and a powder-feeding device. The monitoring system includes a position adjustment controller, a temperature detection unit, a distance detection unit, and a printing distance-adjusting controller. The temperature detection unit and the printing distance-adjusting controller form a temperature adjustment device. The method comprises the following steps: 1) acquisition of a 3D model of a workpiece to be printed, and hierarchical slicing processing; 2) scanning path filling; 3) printing path acquisition; and 4) printing layer-by-layer from the top to the bottom.
US Patent Application Publication No. 20150042017A published on Feb. 12, 2018 (Inventors: K. Ramaswamy, et al.) discloses a systems, apparatuses, and methods of three-dimensional plasma printing or processing. In one embodiment, a method includes introducing chemical precursors into one or more point plasma sources, generating plasma in the one or more point plasma sources from the chemical precursors with one or more power sources, and locally patterning an object disposed over a stage with the generated plasma by moving the stage with respect to the one or more point plasma sources. A “point plasma source” is a plasma source capable of dispensing or directing plasma to a local area of the stage or substrate supported by the stage, in contrast to plasma sources and chambers, which subject an entire substrate to plasma processing with a single chemistry at once. The one or more point plasma sources are coupled to or comprise a printing head, which enables creating chemistries at high electron temperatures while a substrate disposed on the stage is at a substantially lower temperature than the plasma. Thus, using different point plasma sources to perform three-dimensional processing and printing enables maintenance of two different temperatures: the chemistry for performing the processing or printing is at a very high temperature necessary to create the radical or ionized species, and other stage or sample held by the stage is at a lower temperature. Maintaining two different temperatures further enables processing and printing with a mixture of different elements and the creation of different types of alloys (e.g., metals, dielectrics, etc.).
U.S. Pat. No. 9,486,878 issued on Nov. 8, 2016 to B. Buller, et al. discloses 3D objects, 3D printing processes, as well as methods, apparatuses and systems for the production of 3D objects. Methods, apparatuses and systems of the present disclosure may reduce or eliminate the need for auxiliary supports. The present disclosure provides 3D objects printed utilizing the printing processes, methods, apparatuses and systems described herein. The energy beam can be an electromagnetic beam, electron beam, or plasma beam.
U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/207,454 issued on Feb. 19, 2019 to B. Buller, et al. discloses various apparatuses and systems for 3D printing. The disclosure provides 3D printing methods, apparatuses, software and systems for a step-and-repeat energy irradiation process; controlling material characteristics and/or deformation of the 3D object; reducing deformation in a printed 3D object; and planarizing a material bed. In some embodiments, the tiling energy flux emits an energy stream towards the target surface in a step-and-repeat type sequence to perform the tile-forming process. The tiling energy flux may comprise radiative heat, electromagnetic radiation, charge particle radiation (e.g., e-beam), or a plasma beam. The tiling energy source may comprise a heater (e.g., a radiator or lamp), an electromagnetic radiation generator (e.g., laser), a charge particle radiation generator (e.g., an electron gun), or a plasma generator.
US Patent Application Publication No. 20170203364A1 published on Jul. 20, 2017 (Inventors: K. Ramaswamy, et al.) discloses an additive manufacturing system that includes a platen, a feed material dispenser apparatus configured to deliver a feed material over the platen, a laser configured to produce a laser beam, a controller configured to direct the laser beam to locations specified by data stored in a computer-readable medium to cause the feed material to fuse, and a plasma source configured to produce ions that are directed to substantially the same location on the platen as the laser beam. The laser source and the plasma source may be integrated in a coaxial point laser and plasma source configured such that the laser beam and the ions emerge from the coaxial point laser and plasma source along a common axis. The coaxial point laser and plasma source may be configured such that the laser beam and the ions emerge in an overlapping region. A heat source is configured to apply heat to feed material on the platen from a side of the feed material farther from the plasma source. The feed material can be dry powders of metallic or ceramic particles, metallic or ceramic powders in a liquid suspension, or a slurry suspension of a material.
US Patent Application Publication No. 20170067154 published on Mar. 9, 2017 (Inventor: T. Grotjohn) discloses systems and methods for using microplasma in 3D printing to deposit materials, remove materials, or modify the properties of materials deposited on a given substrate surface. The resulting microplasma-based 3D printing enables the integration of different types of materials into the same 3D printed structure that is not possible with current technology. The disclosed systems and methods utilize microplasma in 3D printers to enable the integration of different types of materials, such as plastics, metals, ceramics, or glass, into the same part during the 3D printing process. Typically, the size of the plasma stream can range from 10 micrometers to 1 millimeter. Further, the distance from the exit point of the print head and the structure being printed can be used to control the size of the plasma stream. Specifically, the further the plasma stream travels from the exit point of the print head to the surface, the more the plasma stream expands in width. Moreover, the thickness of the deposited layer can be adjusted from just a few atomic layers to thicker layers if the microplasma is left to deposit at the same region for a long time, or if the microplasma is passed over the same region many times.